This invention relates generally to food processing and, more particularly, to apparatus and methods for conveying food items such as carrots to a cutter.
Apparatus for topping and tailing vegetables such as carrots employ a conveyor for moving the vegetables to one or more cutters. The conveyor typically includes pockets or slots for receiving the vegetables that are oriented in a specific manner with respect to the cutter. Some apparatus employ cutters that cut each piece of vegetable into two or more pieces of shorter lengths to produce, for example, baby carrots. To be cost effective, the conveyor typically operates at a high speed. The ability to orient quickly the carrots into the pockets of the conveyor becomes a limiting factor on the feed rate of carrots to the cutter. When some of the carrots are not oriented properly, they will pass through the apparatus without being topped or tailed or cut into the proper sizes. For instance, the carrots may be oriented longitudinally instead of transversely toward the cutter and pass through the cutter without being cut or cut in a longitudinally direction into thinner rather than shorter pieces. Some apparatus employ elaborate and complex mechanisms for orienting the carrots, which typically slow down the cutting process and are prone to malfunctioning.
The present invention provides apparatus and methods for conveying food items such as carrots to a cutter for cutting which reduce the production of uncut or improperly cut food items and increase the output of properly cut food items. It does so by simple tilting of the conveyor so that food items which are not properly received into pockets of the conveyor tend to fall off from the conveyor by gravity away from the cutter and into a recycle area from which they are returned to a feed line to be fed to the conveyor again. The food items are fed to the conveyor, preferably assisted by gravity, at an angle having a component opposite to the direction of the conveyor selected to increase the likelihood that they will be properly aligned with and received into the pockets moving in the conveyor direction. In this way, the invention avoids or at least minimizes the production of uncut or improperly cut food items at the output of the cutter without employing complex mechanisms or decreasing the speed of the conveyor.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a food processing apparatus for conveying food items to a cutter for cutting comprises a conveyor having a plurality of pockets for receiving food items and configured to move the food items in a conveyor direction to a cutter. A stationary feed chute is disposed adjacent a side of the conveyor and is disposed at a chute angle measured from a horizontal plane for transferring the food items downward to the conveyor by gravity. The conveyor is disposed at a conveyor angle measured from the horizontal plane. The conveyor angle is counter-clockwise relative to the conveyor direction. The conveyor is substantially unobstructed along another side opposite from the stationary feed chute so that food items which are not received into the pockets of the conveyor tend to fall off from the conveyor by gravity. In specific embodiments, the conveyor angle is about 15xc2x0-70xc2x0, and more desirably about 40xc2x0-45xc2x0.
In some embodiments, the pockets in the conveyor are oriented generally in a transverse direction which is substantially perpendicular to the conveyor direction. The conveyor is further disposed such as the conveyor direction is at a transverse angle measured from the horizontal plane, and the transverse angle is counter-clockwise relative to the transverse direction. In specific embodiments, the transverse angle is about 15xc2x0-45xc2x0, and more desirably about 30xc2x0. The feed chute in some embodiments includes a guide member for guiding the food items to the conveyor at a guide angle measured from the transverse direction. The guide angle is counter-clockwise relative to a downward direction which points generally downward and is substantially perpendicular to a plane on which both the conveyor direction and the transverse direction lie. In specific embodiments, the guide angle is about 4xc2x0-10xc2x0.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an apparatus for conveying food items to a cutter comprises a conveyor having a plurality of slots for receiving food items and configured to move the food items upward in a conveyor direction to a cutter. The plurality of pockets are oriented generally in a transverse direction which is substantially perpendicular to the conveyor direction. The food items are received into and aligned in the pockets generally in the transverse direction. A stationary feed chute is disposed adjacent a side of the conveyor for transferring the food items to the conveyor. The conveyor is disposed at a transverse angle measured from a horizontal plane. The transverse angle is counter-clockwise relative to the transverse direction so that food items which are not received into the pockets of the conveyor tend to fall off from the conveyor by gravity. In specific embodiments, the transverse angle is about 15xc2x0-45xc2x0, and more desirably about 30xc2x0.
In accordance with another aspect of this invention, an apparatus for conveying food items to a cutter comprises a conveyor having a plurality of pockets for receiving food items and configured to move the food items in a conveyor direction to a cutter. The plurality of pockets are oriented in a pocket direction which is nonparallel to the conveyor direction. The food items are received into and aligned in the pockets generally in the pocket direction. The apparatus further comprises means for transferring the food items to the conveyor. The conveyor is disposed at an angle measured from a horizontal plane so that food items which are not received into the pockets tend to fall off from the conveyor by gravity away from the cutter. In specific embodiments, the angle of the conveyor is selected so that food items which are not received into the pockets of the conveyor tend to fall off from the conveyor by gravity generally in a direction which is opposite from the conveyor direction or in a direction which is substantially parallel to the pocket direction.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a method for conveying food items on a conveyor having a plurality of pockets to a cutter for cutting comprises transferring food items in a feed direction to the pockets of the conveyor. The conveyor is moved in a conveyor direction to the cutter which is nonparallel to the feed direction. The conveyor is tilted at an angle measured from a horizontal plane so that food items which are not received into the pockets tend to fall off from the conveyor by gravity away from the cutter. In some embodiments, the method further comprises guiding the food items into the plurality of pockets of the conveyor at a guide angle measured from a pocket direction along which the pockets are oriented. The guide angle is counter-clockwise relative to a downward direction which points generally downward and is substantially perpendicular to a plane on which both the conveyor direction and the pocket direction lie.